i'm about to buy a freedom 28 junkrigged ketch (from the u.k.). is there anything i need to be aware of – anything i need to know about – anything i should look for – any specific problems – before buying it?

…there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in junk–rigged boats…!

My experience so far - not junk rigged - centreplate version.Water from the anchor chain well runs into the bilge, and some water remains in the bilge beside the centreplate trunk, so if the floorboards are screwed down you can't dry it out. This water may find its way into the lockers under the saloon berths when beating.The foot of the main (fore) mast sits in a ring which has a larger diameter than the foot of the mast. When rolling downwind the mast foot may move every now and then, making a very disconcerting grinding and scraping noise. I'm thinking about ways of shimming it. This doesn't happen with the mizzen.

thank you very much, indeed! so, water in the bilge – which can cause nasty follow–ups – the a wiggly main mast are the main problems? well, maybe a bilge–pump might be helpful then. so it's not easy to check the bilge?about the wiggly mastfoot… …that sounds… odd… is it difficult to open the floorboards? also – are freedom 28 known for osmosis or soft spots?

…there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in junk–rigged boats…!

The small amount of water that remains in the bilge is not deep enough for a bilge pump to get it out. My floorboards were screwed down long ago and look to have been unscrewed for years. They are very easy to lift.

I'm not much worried about the mainmast movement - it shouldn't be a problem shimming it. See FR 28/30 CK mast stepI looked at three Freedom 28/30. One, a US built 28 fixed keeler, had osmosis and also severe saturation of the balsa core in the transom (and the well-known problem of cracking and scabbing of the masts), and I wouldn't have touched it with a barge pole . The second, thought to be the last one built in the UK, had been treated for osmosis and did well on hull survey, except that what would in a wooden boat have been the deadwood aft of the ballast keel seemed to be separating from the hull. The likely bill to rebuild the keel, replace all the ballast keel bolts, sort out all the leaking portlights, fix a badly water-damaged bulkhead, replace the severely corroded feathering prop, and replace many plugs in the teak deck meant that I wasn't prepared to pay anything near the asking price. The one I bought is old and scruffy, but has been treated for osmosis, and has no core saturation (now - there was a very small patch in the transom where there was a bodged repair - easily fixed).

Osmosis is very common in boats built in the 1980s. I don't know for sure, but I don't suppose there are many Freedom 28/30s that haven't been peeled and epoxied. Core saturation is a consequence of neglect - there has to be a hole for water to get into the core. If there is no hull damage there shouldn't be any saturation.

Deterioration in the outer glass layer of the masts is common, particularly if they are black - there is a thread on the forum that discusses this. One of my masts is an original but painted white, the other is a replacement - fitted more than 18 years ago - and white from new. Corrosion of the aluminium mast rings (deck rings and mast steps) may need fixing. Corrosion of the aluminium masthead crane causes it to swell and may split laminations at the top of the mast. Leaking portlights are a common problem, I believe. Mine have been replaced with fixed lights. Chances are the wiring will be in poor condition unless a previous owner has rewired - they didn't use tinned copper wire at Fairways Marine.

thank you very much, indeed!! i'll ask the owner of the freedom 28 about these things before i'll fly over to have a closer look… …the boat seems to be built in 1980. anyone know from which building year the osmosis problems did start?

…there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in junk–rigged boats…!